KARI Father & Son’s Camp a Huge Success

The latest KARI Father and Son’s Camp was held from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th September 2017 at Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre. Seven fathers and their sons attended the camp, which was fantastic to see how many members of the community chose to engage with the program.

During the camp, participants enjoyed games of soccer, fishing, didgeridoo painting, boomerang making and painting. During their free time they played tennis, mini golf and kicked a footy around with the kids.

The group also enjoyed learning about reptiles during a reptile show by Reptiles Rule. There were so many other great activities with the camp goers whizzing past on a flying fox, and going for a bushwalk where they learnt about cultural sites at Somersby falls.

The highlight of the camp was watching all the fathers and sons having one on one time with each other and socialising with the other father and sons. It was a wonderful environment for them all to socialise with stories being shared by everyone, while also allowing the children getting to interact with other children their age. Everybody really enjoyed the didgeridoo painting and the boomerang making.

This camp is so valuable as it promotes the importance of the bond between a father and his son/sons. At KARI we recognise that life can get busy and parents don’t always have the opportunity to just get away to relax and bond with their sons as often as they may like or need.

What KARI offers these father and sons is a chance to do this. This camp also enables the fathers to meet other fathers in the community and talk about issues that may be bothering them and learn from each other to better their parenting skills. The children really thrive playing with the other kids as well.

The best thing about this camp is that KARI makes it culturally appropriate. It is a chance for not only the father but also the children to learn about their culture as many of these families do not know much about their culture before attending the camp.